IBM awards second Open Source Community Grant to Outreachy

IBM names internship and mentor program Outreachy as the winner of its second $50,000 Open Source Community Grant. (Pixabay)

IBM has named internship and mentor program Outreachy as the winner of its second $50,000 Open Source Community Grant. Outreachy is a nonprofit that provides internships in the free and open source software (FOSS) space for people from groups that face under-representation, systemic bias, or discrimination in the technology industry of their countries.

In a blog post, IBM said the award was especially timely because it will help Outreachy provide paid remote work to underrepresented groups in a time when people are being forced to work from home because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The current COVID-19 crisis underscores the inequities in our society. People who have jobs that can be done remotely find themselves in a stable situation and able to weather this crisis at home while many workers have no immediate way to earn a living without risking their lives,” said Karen Sandler, executive director of the Software Freedom Conservancy, the parent organization of Outreachy, in a statement.

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Outreachy's internships are open to applicants around the world. Interns can work remotely and are not required to move. Outreachy interns are also paid a stipend of $5,500 for the three-month internship and usually have a $500 travel stipend to attend conferences or events. Outreachy converted the travel payment to support people who now need to work from home due to the coronavirus pandemic.

According to a blog by IBM's Todd Moore, vice president of open technology and developer advocacy, and Guillermo Miranda, vice president and global head of corporate social responsibility, the grant included $25,000 in cash as well as a technology award of $25,000.

In October, Girls Who Code was the winner of the first $50,000 IBM Open Source Community Grant. Girls Who Code is a nonprofit organization working to increase the number of women working in computer science.